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SPORTS

Obiena misses pole vault podium in Paris

Ivan Suing

Ernest John Obiena finished in fourth place after clearing 5.90 meters in the men's pole vault final of the Paris Olympics at the Stade de France early Tuesday (Manila time).

Obiena, 28, cleared the height on his first attempt and appeared poised for a podium finish. But Obiena wasn't able to clear 5.95m in three attempts, eliminating him from contention.

Emmanouil Karalis of Greece took the bronze medal from Obiena via countback despite both of them clearing 5.90m.

Still, Obiena's Paris Games stint was an improvement from his finish at 11th-place at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, with Bo Kanda Lita Baehre of Germany after clearing 5.70m.

World champion and Tokyo Games champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden clinched the gold medal after setting a new Olympic and world record of 6.25m while Sam Kendricks of the United States settled for a silver medal after clearing 5.95m.